Terms of Endearment
by Master-Magician
Summary: Collection of Kili/Tauriel stories based around certain words.
1. My Star

**This will be a collection of Kili/Tauriel one-shots each centered around a certain word. **

**Just to clarify one thing in case my readers do not realize it. Part of this is Kili thinking he is dreaming, he does not realize it is actually happening. **

**Enjoy.**

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><p>Pain, cold, and hot. That was all Kili could feel as he struggled for breath.<p>

Every inch of his body cried out in agony as he was lifted onto the table. He could not hold back the screams that tore their way from his lips. As hard as he tried, the pain was just too much for him to hold back. The epicenter of his torment came from the arrow wound in his leg.

Then there was the chill and the heat. If felt as if the blood in his veins had been replaced by boiling hot liquid fire as it ran through his body, everything burned. At the same time, he felt so **cold**. As if he was covered in a mountain of snow. Kili's body burned as it froze over at the same time.

Kili could feel someone, or multiple someones, holding him down. The young dwarf struggled against their grip with what little strength he had. Even he did not know why, the pain was clouding his ability to think clearly. All his fogged mind could comprehend was the agony and the horrible sensations of the clashing temperatures.

"Hold him down." Whoever was speaking, Kili could not tell. Their voiced was far away and muffled as if shrouded in cotton. All he could tell was that it was female

The intensity of the pain increased twofold when he felt someone grab at his injured leg, forcing another scream before he could stop it.

It was that moment when he began to hear it. The voice was firm yet soft and musical, like nothing Kili had ever heard. The words were neither Khuzdul nor the common tongue.

Before Kili could put what little thoughts he was capable of toward the sound, he felt someone pushing on his arrow wound. Kili had thought it could not hurt anymore.

He was wrong.

Kili's next yell sounded muffled to the dwarf's ears despite the fact he was screaming at the top of his lungs with everything his voice could muster.

"Tilda!" Another voice, female like the first but not as smooth as the former. More hands came forth to hold him down as he thrashed about.

The original voice resumed its strange chant in the foreign language. With every word that reached Kili's ears, the pain was shoved further away. It was still there, clawing at him, but somehow he could not feel it as much like he had moments before.

The fog of his mind slowly cleared up little by little as the agony receded. Allowing him to finally look up and see the source of the voice.

What his eyes were seeing was impossible, she could not be really here. Yet here she was, she had the same red hair as the guard captain. The same braids, the same face, the same eyes. His eyes were telling him she was here but it could not be.

Tauriel.

Kili knew he must be dreaming, there was no other way Tauriel could be here at this moment. This must be some other elf that looked just like her. It only seemed right that his mind would torment him with the face of the woman he would never see again, yet badly wanted to, while his body suffered so.

The she-elf leaned over him, looking off in the distance while she chanted. Kili found himself enthralled as he watched her. As his eyes locked onto her form, she began to radiate an ethereal glow. She shone brighter than any torch or gem he had ever seen. The elf shined brighter than the stars Tauriel loved so much.

It was as if she were a star herself. Kili found it quite fitting for the most beautiful woman he had ever met.

Right then, the elf's eyes looked down and locked onto Kili's own orbs. If Kili was enthralled before, he was now truly mesmerized by her eyes. This Dream Tauriel continued her words but now her eyes never tore away from the dwarf's.

The pain faded further but in its absence came a great wave of fatigue. His eyes fought hard to stay open, but their desire to close fought harder. When he opened his lids next, there was no one holding him down anymore. The only person standing around him was Dream Tauriel, she was doing something with his sore leg.

"Tauriel." Kili's voice was horse and raspy but he got the word out anyway. The elf instantly turned to face him again.

"Lie still." Dream Tauriel responded gently with the same lovely voice of the real Tauriel.

"You cannot be her." It was hard for Kili to talk but he pressed on regardless. She did not turn to face him this time but instead raised her head to look ahead. "She is far away. She... she is far, far away from me."

"She walks... In starlight in another world." There was so much Kili wanted to tell Tauriel. He would do so if their paths ever crossed again. Since he would never see the flame haired maiden again, the next best he could do was to speak to Dream Tauriel.

"It was just a dream." Kili lamented quietly. Tauriel was not actually here. She would not be hearing his words now or possibly even ever.

With what little strength the dwarf prince had, he raised his hand up to brush his fingers with Dream Tauriel's. Kili's dream was so vivid, he could feel the she-elf's hands beneath his touch. They were not weak or delicate. Tauriel was no damsel in distress, she was a warrior. The hands of Dream Tauriel was a perfect reflection of what he thought the real ones would feel like.

Dream Tauriel made no move to pull away.

If Kili had his way, he would be speaking to the real Tauriel instead of only a manifestation of his own mind. However beggars could not be choosers, at least he could speak to a dream version of her. It was cold comfort but comfort nonetheless.

"Do you think she could have loved me?" That was the question Kili so badly wanted to have answered. Yes, could she love him? Could the she-elf find it in her heart to love a dwarf, or was that all he was to her? Was she able to see past his race for the man he was?

Right then Kili decided that as soon as he awoke from this dream, after he discovered the fate of his uncle, he was going to find Tauriel. He would ask her in person, consequences be damned.

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><p><strong>This will hopefully be the only one based off a scene from the movie. I just could not resist using it with the word star. The rest will hopefully be original scenes. I have not decided if they will be connected or completely stand alone. The rest will hopefully be better and longer. <strong>

**Fear not my fellow shippers, the rest of these will be real romance instead of this maybe stuff. **

**I also will write and post them as they come to me so update schedule will be completely random. If people have a suggestion, I would love to hear it. **


	2. My Shield

**I decided to change the chapter titles for this story. Trying to get the words in Khuzdul and Sindarin was more effort than I wanted to do. So I'll just put the titles in English. I already fixed chapter 1. **

**Enjoy.**

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><p>Tauriel may not have seen as much as she would have liked in her six hundred years, but she had still seen much. Especially after the Battle of the Five Armies now that she had such a large presence in Erebor.<p>

Today was a day she had seen something completely unheard of. Even the old dwarf Balin was completely blindsided by what happened.

At first she and Kili had held their relationship in secret, both felt it was necessary until things were calmer around the kingdoms of Erebor, Dale, and Mirkwood. Patience was what she had urged Kili. To her surprise, the reckless dwarf understood and even supported the idea.

Thank the Valar that Thranduil saw she was closer to the Durins than most, he appointed her as ambassador to the mountain kingdom. Her banishment had been only partially lifted, she was allowed to return but was not allowed her old position as captain of the guard. The elven king likely thought being ambassador to the dwarves was a kind of punishment.

The jest was on him, she loved this change.

She could be close to Kili, the pair could be around each other all the time. They occasionally would sneak off to be alone somewhere. While in private, there was no barriers left to keep up. Kili and Tauriel could be just that, Kili and Tauriel. No prince, no ambassador, just a pair of lovers wanting to be together. Even a moment alone with Kili made all the sneaking around worth it.

Some of the dwarves were of course quite unwelcoming to an elf in their midst, but the kindness of others more than made up for it. Balin especially, the dwarven advisor was well aware of both her help before and after the battle. Not only in saving Kili's life, twice no less, but also in protecting him during the orc ambush in Laketown.

Thorin was a similar issue. Unfortunately he did not let her feel all that welcome. He did tolerate her though, there were no threats, no outright scowls at her. Tauriel knew he did not like her there but he was not a man to disregard the one who saved his nephews life. In truth Tauriel was perfectly fine with him ignoring her for the most part, it was far better than hostility.

Then there was Kili...

If every dwarf in the entire mountain had hated her mere presence and wanted her gone, the acceptance of her dwarven lover would make every second of the scorn worth it.

The pair could not share a bedchamber yet since their relationship was secretive still. This was despite how badly she wanted to feel his warmth nestled beside her under the sheets. There had been many a night she had to scold herself for almost throwing caution to the wind to just sneak into his room while the rest of the mountain slept. No matter how much she wanted to, she could not do that. He was a prince no less! Tauriel did not have it in her to jeopardize his position in Erebor She would not have been surprised to wake up to find Kili doing just that to her own room though.

Having to refrain from more intimate behavior in public was a little difficult. Her hands would often drift closer to her dwarf prince of their own accord. She had managed to catch herself every time so far. Kili would always catch her when this happened. His knowing smirk was always ready to fire her way when he knew how flustered she was at her own inability to keep her hands to herself. This made it perfectly fair when he would do the exact same and she got the chance to retaliate with a smirk of her own.

Kili longed to shower her with gifts, despite her insistence she did not need them. The only thing he had been able to give her was a small braid Tauriel always felt at the back of her neck. It was small so her long red hair hid it easily. Any elf would not understand its significance but dwarves would, this was why she hid it whenever in Erebor. Tauriel would never forget the stuttering way in which Kili explained what it meant.

A courtship braid.

Tauriel longed for the day she could wear the larger version for everyone to see. She would show it off with pride. Let them stare, she would tell herself.

Patience, Tauriel reminded herself regularly. Everything would be alright if they just waited for the right time to let everyone know.

"With an elf no less!"

The screaming snapped Tauriel's mind back to reality like the lash of a whip. Thorin was still yelling at the top of his lungs. Kili had warned her that his uncles temper, especially toward elves, was legendary. The elf maiden was receiving the awful pleasure of witnessing it firsthand. She took no comfort in the knowledge that she was not the target of his verbal barrage. Tauriel looked to the actual target and felt a pang in her heart.

Kili.

It had to happen eventually. They would at some point get careless and would be caught. Their luck could not hold out forever.

The only thing that could have made getting caught worse was to be caught by Thorin himself. Which is exactly what happened. Dwarf and elf thought they evaded everyone when they snuck away but Thorin had followed them out of curiosity to where his nephew went. He had walked in on them in a heated and passionate kiss.

Tauriel's elven ears still rang from the volume of the first yell.

Tauriel's dwarven lover stood his ground and took the yelling like a stone wall. The elven woman was impressed, had she been in his boots then Tauriel knew she would already be yelling back.

Part of Tauriel was a little disappointed at Kili's silence. He said not a word when Thorin began his tirade. No defense for their love, nothing.

"I raised you better than this!"

"You know better Kili!"

Tauriel felt her own rage bubbling up. She had to clench her fists at her sides to keep her own temper at bay. This was the king under the mountain. Tauriel could not just scream at him or hit him, no matter how far in the wrong she thought he was. He was a king, she had to be respectful.

Despite how badly she wanted to throttle him.

The only voice in the room was the roars of Thorin. Balin stood off to the side trying to figure out exactly what he should do. Dwalin stood off to the side, his face a mask of indifference. So long as Thorin was in no danger, Tauriel was sure he was not going to care all that much.

Bilbo had been the only one to attempt to calm the king. The second he opened his mouth, Thorin had turned a brutal glare on the halfling that could have felled another army of orcs.

Then there was Kili and Tauriel, the former taking the screaming of his uncle while the latter stood off to the side in a similar state to Balin.

Tauriel had no idea what she should do. Should she step in and defend her and Kili? Should she leave?

Tauriel's mind was spinning with possibilities when the unthinkable happened. It was so sudden, so fierce, that even Dwalin's jaw had dropped to the floor.

"I don't care if she saved your life! If you think I would allow your courtship to this elven who..." Thorin did not have a chance to finish his sentence.

This time Kili did respond.

With a vicious left hook to his uncle's jaw.

Tauriel felt the world go still as the blow connected with enough force to knock the dwarven king backward, nearly off his feet.

Once Thorin had recovered he had stared at Kili with utter disbelief, the dwarven prince glared at his uncle with a look that was scarily similar to the one Bilbo received a short while ago.

Only this one was more ferocious, if that was possible.

Balin looked like he was about to have a stroke, Dwalin moved his eyes between the two Durins as if unsure who to defend. Poor Bilbo, the halfling appeared like he was moments from fainting.

"You can yell and scream all you like..." Kili finally spoke up, every word dripping with pure venom. "You can insult me all you like, I don't care. But if you make the slightest insult about Tauriel, I'll do more than just bruise your kingly face!" Kili all but snarled as he yelled back to Thorin.

Tauriel's mind had shut down. No one, not even Legolas, had ever defended her with such passion. The elf maiden's heart swelled with love for her dwarf.

There was no thoughts left to have, no doubts. Tauriel would not let him face his uncle alone. She moved forward with no hesitation so that she was beside Kili. The elf dropped down to one knee so that he was taller than her.

Wrapping one arm around him, she could feel the tenseness in the dwarf prince's muscles. The feeling only lasted a moment, it evaporated almost instantly when she touched him. In response, Kili wrapped his own arm around her slender form.

Kili never once tore his glare away from Thorin but Tauriel could feel how grateful he was for her presence when his hand softly squeezed the elf's shoulder. Words were not needed between the two of them.

They had already been caught, Tauriel was no longer afraid to show affection in public for her Kili. She reached down with her spare hand to gently grasp the fist he used to strike Thorin. The hand was still clenched tightly but her touch again made him relax. Tauriel ignored the looks of the other dwarves and hobbit as she looked over the hand for any injury. Dwarves were indeed tough as the stone they carved, except for some mild bruising there was no real damage.

Regardless, Tauriel pressed a soft kiss to his slightly injured knuckles. She would never say it out loud but she was only using the tiny injury as an excuse to show affection for him in front of the other four. King under the mountain be damned.

She let her lips linger for a moment before she looked up to face the others in the room. Thorin looked more appalled and disgusted than Tauriel had ever seen him. Balin had a tiny smile on his lips, Dwalin still looked lost. Bilbo was grinning like an idiot. All in all, the reaction could be worse.

Thorin opened his mouth again, no doubt to start yelling again, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him cold. The dwarven king turned around to glare at whoever it was that was interrupting him.

"Let it go laddie." Balin spoke as he gripped his king's shoulder. "You could try separating them all you like, your only success will be to drive him further away."

Thorin wanted to yell more, Tauriel could tell from his body language. He did not want one of his nephews with an elf. Tauriel wanted his blessing, she truly did. He may not be her king or family, but he was Kili's uncle, the man who practically raised him. What he thought meant a lot to Kili, and by extension, her.

Instead of more yelling, Thorin just stomped out of the room, grumbling something that sounded a lot like "reckless nephews" mixed in with a few words in Khuzdul that were likely swear words.

Dwalin followed his king out the door but Balin and Bilbo stayed. "Congratulations, I think." Bilbo's smile never once left his face.

To Tauriel it was contagious. "Thank you."

"Hey Kili, what did you do this time? Thorin looks like he's about ready to..." Fili came into that room right then. His eyes shot open as he took in the sight of an elf and his little brother with arms around each other.

The golden haired brother's look darkened. "Kili..."

Kili had already had enough scolding for one day. There was no way Tauriel was going to sit back and let him take another round from his brother too.

She opened her mouth to say something before he could start but Fili's words stopped her cold.

"Damn... I lost my wager with Bofur."

Both Kili and Tauriel looked at him in disbelief. Even more so when a huge grin lit up the older brother's face. "He said it would take Thorin a few months to catch on, I told him nah, it would take more than a few."

Fili glared at his brother with mock anger. "You were supposed to be more subtle than this idiot!" The words held no actual bite to them. The smile returned after just a few seconds. "Eh oh well."

Kili looked over at Tauriel at the same time she looked at him. This was certainly... unexpected.

One brother and uncle down, the lovers were still alive. Things were not going that bad so far.

All that left was Kili's mother Dis. Brother and uncle were one thing but Kili's mother? Tauriel felt her heart skip a beat, they were not out of danger yet.

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><p><strong>I will admit, I did this one just so I could have a story where Kili punched Thorin to defend Tauriel. Let me know what you think. <strong>


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